By McKenzieDriftBoat.com
Frame or stitch and glue?
Hey everyone, new to the site and to boat building so have a question for everybody. What are the benefits/drawbacks of of each type of boat. A little background on myself might help, I have been a cabinet maker by trade for the last twenty years starting out building spiral wooden staircases and moving on to custom high end cabinetry. I have what most hobbyists would consider a dream fully equipped woodworking shop in my back yard so I have no problem with the skill set and tools to build either one of these types of boat. What I am looking for is pros and cons of each boat as far as handling on the river, weight, durability and anything else anyone can come up with. I am a total rookie when it comes to this kind of boating and know absolutely nothing about it, I thought I might start out building a small stitch and glue pram but I don't do a lot of still water fishing so I am having second thoughts on that. Any info that would help me decide would be greatly appreciated, love the site, love the boats, itchin' to get started.
Todd.
Todd.
Views: 118
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by larry Hambley on -
Todd: I'm no expert having only built 2 boats. But, I believe the first thing you should do is get a copy of Roger Fletcher's book " Drift boats and River Dories". It gives the history, construction methods, and plans for the most popular types of drift boats. Trust me, it will become your most important tool for building. Good luck on your build.
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Permalink Reply by Chris Patterson on -
I think it really comes down to personal preference.
I started with stitch and glue and have stuck with what I know. My opinion is that stitch and glue is more forgiving since the epoxy fills the gaps. Based on what you have written I would say you have the tools and the skills to build a framed boat.
Epoxy work is kind of sticky, smelly and nasty. Certainly not my favorite part of boat building. Sounds like you like wood work. You get plenty with stitch and glue but you get more of with framed boats.
I second the post about Roger Fletcher's book. It is 100% framed boats but I find it very valuable.
Hope this helps.
Chris Patterson
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Permalink Reply by John Greenleaf on -
Todd, There is quite a bit of discussion on this topic in some other forum posts that I have come across: "stitch and Glue" in the search should get you a few. They really go into some of the pros and cons of each. Ditto on all that said in the previous posts too.
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Permalink Reply by lhedrick on -
After completion, I doubt you will find many differences. The shapes are the same.
Today, I am a builder of Stitch and glue boats. I have built kayaks and dories with it. I started building framed boats with my father back in the 60s.
One difference is that stitch and glue covers all plywood surfaces with fiberglass cloth and epoxy. The wood gets completely encapsulated. There is also the option of using Kevlar on the bottom at additional cost.
While epoxy work is sticky I kind like working with glass and epoxy. It's also easy to learn. One myth about epoxy is that it's toxic. This is not true. Unlike paint, epoxy uses almost no solvent so VOC vapors are not an issue like with some paints. 2 liquids are mixed together to produce a solid which bonds like crazy to wood and most other things. Some people develop an allergic reaction to the hardener part of the mix so it's good to use gloves and keep it off your skin.
As mentioned, Rogers book is invaluable no matter which type of boat you decide to build but, it is entirely geared to traditional framed boats. Any one of the boat plans in the book can be build with the stitch and glue process. Basically with stitch and glue the frames are temporary and are removed when the hull is complete. To get more information on stitch and glue building visit the following web site
montana-riverboats.com
This site is run by Sandy Pittendrigh and has a builders forum like this one. The site explains the process and you can ask for help on the forum.
The only real difference is at the chine. A framed boat seals the plywood seams with a compound and chine strips inside and out held in place with screws. As this creates a hard chine edge at the top of the wood chine strip it can cause more chine dip when the boat is places across the current. On a stitch an glue boat we build up the chine with many layers of fiberglass and epoxy inside and out. In addition on the inside we build up a thick epoxy fillet. This can also be done with a triangular strip of oak epoxied in place.
As for which is better, I doubt one is better then the other. Last April I was with 3 other boaters on a Grand Canyon trip. 2 stitch and glue boats and 2 framed boats, all 4 got down river just fine. In any case a wood boat of either construction can be repaired to working order after some massive damage and will likely last longer then we will.
Larry in Park City
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Permalink Reply by Skip Rotticci on -
Stitch and glue offers a very clean smooth no line snag interior but takes a great deal of thought to engineer correctly for white water use. Frames are very traditional, provide a strong "rib cage" and are great for setting the shape, rocker, etc.
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Permalink Reply by Todd Sherback on -
Thanks for everyone's input to this newbe`s question, I took the advice of everyone about the book by Roger Fletcher, received it in the mail today, can't wait to get into it.
I guess I should have just done the a search to start with I'm member on enough fishing and boating forums to know better, but I did take the advice of John and searched all forums and blogs and read everything that came up, of course that did not help me a bit in my choice. I also looked through every album on the site and found of course that there is a ton of variations in the boats depending on the type of water you want to run, open verses closed, double ender verses single and on and on. I see that I have a lot of research to do before I can get started.
I did make one decision, I believe I will start out with a little pram so I can get going on it relatively soon, I talked to the wife and we are going to make a trip to Vida to the wooden boat festival next spring to drool, talk and get some ideas. I wonder if anyone has access to info, links or plans for a ten to twelve foot ribbed(I think I`m leaning to ribbed just because the look and the woodworking aspect appeals to me) flat bottom pram.
Your help is much appreciated and I look forward to many years of enjoyment from this new obsession. Todd.
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Permalink Reply by larry Hambley on
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Todd: Nothing wrong with your plan, but, please consider building a "Trapper" or "Rapid Robert" instead. (See your book.) If you keep the interior simple, I can't see how a pram would take that much less effort or material. Both these boats are extremely adaptable to various uses and will be something you can be proud of. However you go, good luck!
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Permalink Reply by lhedrick on
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Todd:
I'm with Larry on this one. When I was kid I wanted to build my first boat. My father suggested a pram. I was only about 10 years old. I didn't like prams then and I still don't like them. The suggestion of a Trapper or Rapid Robert makes a lot of sense. A Rapid Robert will give you a river boat for Class II, III water and will work on the lakes with a small motor. It think it's a much more useful boat and a great suggestion.
L
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Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on -
Todd don't let these guys dis prams.
In Roger's book in Chapter 6 about the Rogue River you will see a white water pram built in the 1970's running the Rogue. It is pretty much a 14ft double ender with the two ends cut off.
Click here for a link to a photo of a remake of that boat which Sanderson built last year. I rowed it down the Rogue last October and it was the most fun I have ever had in a drift boat. It easily handled the class IV water.
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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on -
Todd, here's a picture from the recent Wooden Boat Festival of a Trapper. It is a pretty little boat and this one is a beautiful example. I'll bet if you inquire on here you'll be able to find the owner and visit with him.
Good luck,
Rick Newman - Attachments:
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April pictures 085.JPG, 2.2 MB
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